Means for patching motion-picture film



May 9, 1950 R. c. MERCER 2,506,933

MEANS FOR PATCHING MOTION-PICTURE FILM Filed April 27, 1945 INVENTOR.@IY/wom: //f/fcf/ Patented May 9, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICERaymond C. Mercer, Los Angeles, Calif. v

Application April .27, 1945, Serial/No. 590,625 'l (Cl. Sil-19.5)

lClaim. l

This invention relates :to film patches somewhat similar to patchesdisclosed in Letters Patent of the United States granted to me on August30, 1921, and numbered 1,389,523, and also Letters Patent of the UnitedStates granted to me on July 20, 1937, numbered 2,087,289.

My prior patches have been made of opaque material and generally oimetal with marginal teeth insertible through the sprocket perforationsof a motion picture nlm so that overlapping or abutting sections of abroken film may be held together when the teeth -or the patches are'bent over the lm sections.

It is an object ofthe .present invention to pro" vide a transparentadhesive patch applicable over abutting portions of broken or cutsections of film and having perforations adapted to register 4with theperiorations on the film so that emergency repairto a film may bequickly made dur ing the projection of a picture without occasion ingthe omission of even a single frame of the lm.

An object, also, is to provide a series of adhesive lm patches arrangedin a roll of tape, with perforations between .adjacent sections or atleast adapted to be cut or separated on uniformly spaced transverselines, and in which sections transverse rows of perforations areprovided for registration with the film perforations when the patchsections are applied to parted sections of a film.

A further object is to provide a tape-like adhesive and perforated stripof transparent, fles:- ible material, preferably in a roll forapplication of portions thereof to a motion picture ilm. a suitablesupport for the lni sections to patched, and a suitable registeringdevice carried by the support and provided with teeth, pins or otherelements adapted to engage the sprocket perforations of the filmsections for holdingr the ends of the film sections in abuttingposition, and also for holding a section of the patching material inpatching position with the tacky side of the tape adjacent the nlmsections, whereby the adhesive patches may be accurately aixed to theupper and lower sides of the nlm sections.

Other and more detailed objects may appear as the description of myinvention progresses.

I have shown a preferred form of my improvements with minormodifications in the accom panying drawings, subject to still furtherchange, Within the scope of the appended claim, without departing fromthe spirit of my invention.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of two sections of film disposed on asuitable support relative to an adhesive strip 4of patching material Vto,making-'a patch; a

Fig. .2 is a transverse sectionvon line 12--2l-0f Figi; H-

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in perspective of one form of completedpatch; v

Fig. 4 is `a transverse section on line 4-4 .of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary lview in perspective io a modied rform of patch;

Fig. 6 is a perspective View oa type offmetafl patch disclosed in mysaid patent which is useful in the present vinvention for .affordingaccurate registration of the lm sections and the patches embodying theherein disclosed novel features;-

Fig. "l is a section on line -l of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary View of the adhesive side of Ia strip of tapeadapted for use in thisltype ofzpatching meansand n Fig. 9 is afragmentary longitudinal section showing the separated sections inabutting relation with the patch applied thereover.

Briefly, with reference to the drawing, this invention comprehends theprovision of a new method and means for joining the torn or cut ends ofsections of motion picture lilms as at F and F which, due to accident orotherwise have become separated, as when a picture is being projectedupon a screen. Usually, under such circumstances, any available means isemployed for reconnecting the separated film sections, but frequently apatch of the character shown in Fig. 6 of my invention, is used whichembodies a fiat body E adapted to underlie abutting portions of nlmsections F and F and has teeth 2, 2, etc., at opposite ends thereofadapted to extend through sprocket perforations 3, 3, etc., of said lms,and are bent over the surface of the lms opposite body i of the patch.

The patch I, however, is usually opaque, or at most but slightly oflight transmitting quality, and requires an overlapping of the films,thereby obliterating the effect oi at least two frames or picture areason the lms, and, correspondingly, impairing the continuity of thepicture momentarily.

I, therefore, provide a suitable support A of generally flat crosssection formed with a very shallow groove s, which corresponds in widthto the lms F and F and has transversely supported therein one of themetal patches l shown in Fig. 6 with the teeth 2 thereof upstanding sothat the parted sections of the lm may be positioned thereon with theiradjacent ends held against displacement by said teeth.

Prior to positioning the lms on the patch l, however, a section 5 of anadhesive tape B is pulled from a roll (not shown) and laid with itstacky surface uppermost upon the body I of the metal patch. Each section5 of the patching tape may have perforations 6 pre-formed therein inaccurately spaced relationship with the perforations 3 of the lrns andthe teeth 2 of the metal patch I; or, if the tape is of a materialcapable of being readily perforated or punched, any suitable means maybe employed for applying the adhesive tape over the end portions of thelms and for perforating the patches so that there will be providedadequate sprocket perforations during the movement of a lm through aprojector.

As shown in Fig. 3 each tape section 5 is formed with two parallel rowsof perforations S near each extremity so that when the main portion l ofeach section underlies the two lm end portions, the end portions 1 ofthe sections will overlie marginal portions of said lms, and thus leavethe picture and sound areas of the films uncovered on one side of thelms.

As shown in Fig. 8 tape Bs two adjacent sections 5 may be employed foreach patch (see also Fig. 5) wherein one section would underlie andanother section would overlie the films F and F', and still other formsof tape may be provided if desired. It is preferable to preperforate thetape B, as at 8, so as to subdivide the tape into accurately measuredsections of the same length.

Of course it is apparent that the sections 5 of transparent. adhesivematerial may be made in pads, as well as in the form of a continuoustape with perforated lines of division between adjacent sections.

Iclaim:

A patch of transparent material for joining sections of motion picturefilms and having a surface thereof coated with adhesive material,characterized by a length suinciently in excess of the width of the filmto be patched to extend across one face only of the film and both facesof the longitudinal perforated edges of the lm, and of a width sucientto extend over at least one edge perforation at each side of bothabutting ends and being provided with four parallel rows ofperforations, the distance between the inner rows of perforationscorresponding to the distance between the two rows of perforations ofthe film whereas each of the outer rows of perforations of the strip isspaced a distance from the adjacent inner row of perforations of thestrip such that the outer rows of perforations of the strip are inalignment with the rows of perforations of the film when the parts ofthe patch projecting beyond the edges of the lm are folded around saidedges of the film and laid flat upon the face of the lm edges oppositeto the strip of patching material.

RAYMOND C. MERCER.

REFERENCES CITED The following refer-ences are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,310,215 Schneider July 15, 19191,535,129 Monacelli et al Apr. 28, 1925 1,591,500 Tessier July 6, 19261,921,954 Stewart Aug. 8, 1933 1,921,963 Crabtree Aug. 8, 1933 2,099,439Goidhammer Nov. 16, 1937 2,318,287 Brolin May 4, 1943 2,346,874 RussellApr. 18, 1944 2,348,237 Barr et al. May 9, 1944

